譯/王美懿 審訂/錢多秀

Why You Should Get the Kids to Bed on Time 為何要讓孩子按時(shí)睡覺

譯/王美懿 審訂/錢多秀

Going to bed at the same time every night could give your child’s brain a boost, a recent study found.

[2] Researchers at University College London found that when 3-year-olds have a regular bedtime they perform better on cognitive tests administered1administer執(zhí)行，給予。at age 7 than children whose bedtimes weren’t consistent2consistent始終如一的，一致的。. The findings represent a new twist3twist彎曲，轉(zhuǎn)折點(diǎn)。on an expanding body of research showing that inadequate sleep in children and adolescents hurts academic performance and overall health.

[3] The latest study considered other factors that can influence bedtime and cognitive development, such as kids skipping breakfast or having a television in their bedroom. After accounting for these, the study found that going to bed very early or very late didn’t affect cognitive performance, so long as the bedtime was consistent.

近期有研究發(fā)現(xiàn)，每晚讓孩子在同一時(shí)間睡覺可以促進(jìn)孩子的大腦發(fā)育。

[2]倫敦大學(xué)學(xué)院的研究人員發(fā)現(xiàn)，孩子如果在三歲時(shí)就有固定的就寢時(shí)間，那么等他們到七歲接受認(rèn)知測試時(shí)，就會比那些就寢時(shí)間不規(guī)律的孩子表現(xiàn)得更好。在此之前，已經(jīng)有越來越多的研究表明，兒童和青少年睡眠不足會對其學(xué)習(xí)成績和身體健康造成不良影響。而倫敦大學(xué)學(xué)院的這個(gè)發(fā)現(xiàn)，正是該研究領(lǐng)域的一個(gè)新轉(zhuǎn)折點(diǎn)。

[3]這項(xiàng)最新研究也將影響就寢時(shí)間及認(rèn)知發(fā)展的其他因素考慮在內(nèi)，如不吃早飯或臥室里有電視等。在考慮這些因素之后，該研究發(fā)現(xiàn)，只要就寢時(shí)間規(guī)律，無論太早睡還是太晚睡，均不會對孩子的認(rèn)知水平造成影響。

[4] “The surprising thing was the later bedtimes weren’t significantly affecting children’s test scores once we took other factors into account4take ... into account 把……考慮進(jìn)去。,” said Amanda Sacker, director of the International Center for Lifecourse Studies in Society and Health at University College London and a co-author of the study.“I think the message for parents is…maybe a regular bedtime even slightly later is advisable.”

[5] The researchers suggested that having inconsistent bedtimes may hurt a child’s cognitive development by disrupting circadian5circadian生理節(jié)奏的，以24小時(shí)為周期的。rhythms. It also might result in sleep deprivation and therefore affect brain plasticity—changes in the synapses6synapse神經(jīng)元突觸。and neural pathways—at critical ages of brain development.

[6] Sleep experts often focus largely on how much sleep children get. While that is important, “we tend to not pay as much attention to this issue of circadian disruption,” said Judith Owens, director of sleep medicine at Children’s National Medical Center in Washington, D.C.,who wasn’t involved with the study.

[4]阿曼達(dá)·薩克爾是倫敦大學(xué)學(xué)院社會與健康生命歷程研究國際中心的負(fù)責(zé)人，也是該研究報(bào)告的合作作者。她說：“最讓我們驚訝的地方在于，一旦我們將其他因素考慮進(jìn)來，就會發(fā)現(xiàn)晚一點(diǎn)睡覺并未對考試成績造成很大影響。我認(rèn)為，對于家長來說，只要孩子的就寢時(shí)間有規(guī)律，稍晚一點(diǎn)也是可以的?！?/p>

[5]研究者認(rèn)為，就寢時(shí)間不規(guī)律，會打亂孩子的晝夜節(jié)律，從而對孩子的認(rèn)知發(fā)展造成傷害。同時(shí)也有可能導(dǎo)致睡眠剝奪，從而在孩子大腦發(fā)育的關(guān)鍵階段對其大腦的可塑性造成影響——即神經(jīng)元突觸與神經(jīng)通路的變化。

[6]通常，睡眠專家主要關(guān)注孩子的睡眠時(shí)長。這一點(diǎn)固然重要，但是華盛頓國家兒童醫(yī)療中心睡眠醫(yī)療負(fù)責(zé)人朱迪絲·歐文斯表示：“我們往往不會過分關(guān)注晝夜節(jié)律紊亂的問題?！彼]有參與此項(xiàng)研究。

[7]歐文斯博士認(rèn)為，睡眠不足以及就寢時(shí)間不規(guī)律均可通過不同的機(jī)制影響孩子的認(rèn)知發(fā)展。她說：“一個(gè)孩子如果同時(shí)有睡眠不足和就寢時(shí)間不規(guī)律（問題），那他（她）患上認(rèn)知障礙的風(fēng)險(xiǎn)會更大。”

[7] Insufficient sleep and irregular bedtimes may each affect cognitive development through different mechanisms, Dr. Owens said. “The kid who has both [problems] may beat even higher risk for these cognitive impairments7impairment 損傷，損害。,” she said.

[8] The study, published online in July in the Journal of Epidemiology8epidemiology流行病學(xué)，傳染病學(xué)。& Community Health, examined data on bedtimes and cognitive scores for 11,178 children.

[9] The children were participants in the U.K.’s Millennium9millennium 千年期，千禧年。Cohort Study, a nationally representative longterm study of infants born between 2000 and 2002.

[10] Mothers were asked about their children’s bedtimes at 3, 5 and 7 years of age. Nearly 20 percent of the 3-yearolds didn’t have a regular bedtime. That figure dropped to 9.1 percent at age 5 and 8.2 percent at age 7. Mothers were also asked about family routines.

[8]這項(xiàng)研究7月份發(fā)表于《流行病與公共健康》的網(wǎng)絡(luò)版。該研究共分析了11 178名兒童的就寢時(shí)間以及認(rèn)知測試的結(jié)果。

[9]這些兒童都參與了英國千禧世代研究。此項(xiàng)研究是全國代表性的長期研究，研究對象為2000年至2002年出生的孩子。

[10]該研究向母親調(diào)查孩子三歲、五歲及七歲時(shí)的就寢時(shí)間。研究表明，有近20%的三歲小孩沒有固定的睡覺時(shí)間。這一數(shù)據(jù)在五歲小孩中降至9.1%，在七歲小孩中又降至8.2%。該研究同時(shí)也向母親了解了家庭生活習(xí)慣等問題。

[11]這些孩子在七歲時(shí)接受了閱讀、數(shù)學(xué)以及空間的認(rèn)知評估。薩克爾博士說，研究結(jié)果顯示，得分最低的是那些睡覺過早或過晚的孩子，以及那些就寢時(shí)間不規(guī)律的孩子。但是一旦將家庭中的其他因素考慮進(jìn)來，就只有就寢時(shí)間不規(guī)律這一項(xiàng)與測試分?jǐn)?shù)較低有關(guān)了。

[11] When the children were 7 years old, they received cognitive assessments in reading, math and spatial abilities.The poorest test scores were recorded by children who went to bed very early or very late, and by those who had inconsistent bedtimes, said Dr. Sacker.But once other factors in the home were taken into account only the inconsistent bedtime was associated with lower scores, she said.

[12] A consistent pattern of sleep behavior mattered. “Those who had irregular bedtimes at all three ages had significantly poorer scores than those who had regular bedtimes,” Dr. Sacker said. This was especially true for girls who didn’t establish consistent bedtimes between 3 and 7 years old.

[12]擁有規(guī)律的睡眠行為至關(guān)重要。薩克爾博士說：“在三個(gè)年齡段中，就寢時(shí)間不規(guī)律的孩子得到的分?jǐn)?shù)均比就寢時(shí)間規(guī)律的孩子要低得多?！睂τ谀切┰谌龤q至七歲期間未形成規(guī)律就寢時(shí)間的女孩子來說，這種情況尤為明顯。

（譯者單位：北京航空航天大學(xué)外國語學(xué)院）

10 Fascinating Extinct Animals (III)

3. Irish Deer愛爾蘭大鹿

The Irish Elk or Giant Deer, was the largest deer that ever lived. It lived in Eurasia, from Ireland to east of Lake Baikal, during the Late Pleistocene and early Holocene. The latest known remains of the species have been carbon dated to about 5,700 BC, or about 7,700 years ago. The Giant Deer is famous for its formidable size (about 2.1 meters or 7 feet tall at the shoulders), and in particular for having the largest antlers of any known cervid (a maximum of 3.65 meters/12 feet from tip to tip and weighing up to 90 pounds).